Battle Scars
by paper.creations
Summary: Bella's late for her first day of school, and unfortunately Maria - while on a surprise visit to Jasper - crosses the human during a hunt. Maria bites Bella and takes her south to fight before Bella can ever meet the Cullen's. Can all wounds be healed?
1. Prologue: Ghost

**Story Summary: **In the Twilight novels, it was hinted at that Maria came to visit. Bella wakes up late for her first day of school at Forks high, and in her rush to get to school she slips and breaks skin while a blood-thirsty vampire runs nearby. Maria bites Bella, and changes her after drinking her to near death.

For 35 years Bella has fought in the south for Maria and her army, but one day, they're gone. While Bella was away from the war on an errand for Maria, the Volturi destroyed the Southern covens, tired of their endless fighting. With no place to go, Bella wanders.

Will she find the Cullen's? Can this Bella find her Edward?

**Chapter Music: **Don't Let Them See You Cry, Manchester Orchestra

* * *

**Prologue: Ghost**

Her fingers ghosted along the quilt, releasing 35 years of dust from their settlement. It was still soft from a lifetime of use. Its purple colour was faded, like the rest of the room. Everything was faded. The room was dying.

It hadn't been touched for 35 years. The quilt was still in casual disarray, having been thrown off half hazardly one morning. The bedside lamp still laid on its side from when she bumped into it that morning during the rush of finding herself late for school. Rejected possibilities of that day's outfit were still resting around the room, having been flung away in frustration. All of it was still there.

Charlie didn't have the will to straighten up or tidy up. He didn't have the acceptance in him to convert the room into something he could use. He was still in denial, the first stage of grief. He probably wouldn't move from it until he died. He still expected to see his daughter walk in through the front door and apologize for scaring him. He didn't know what really happened.

Isabella Marie Swan died to the human world 35 years ago.

But here she was, moving around her old room like she had never left. A ghost in a ghostly setting.

Moonlight shone down through the window, highlighting a patch of the spotted and dusty hardwood flooring. Sitting there was a math textbook, forgotten in her haste to make it out the door that morning. Charlie had never even returned it.

She wondered what would have happened if she hadn't been late that morning. What if her alarm clock had gone off when it was supposed to? What if she had made it to her truck before it started to rain, and she slipped? What if she hadn't broken skin, taunting and teasing the creature that lurked in the shadows? What if she had stayed...human?

Her nose wrinkled. She didn't like the smell of dust. It's grainy and unpleasant. She was also losing her tolerance of the smell of her father's blood in the next room. It's mixed with the fresh scent of tears. She thinks he cries every night now. Maybe he's mourning the years she had rejected Forks. Maybe he wishes he had more time. Maybe he wishes she would just come home.

He wouldn't wish that if he knew what she had become.

She catched a glimpse of her hand, watching as the moonlight catched the raised scars on her limb, causing them to sparkle the preternatural glimmer of immortal skin. So many scars. So many battles. So many bites.

She stood there for an undeterminable amount of time. Hours are like seconds for her kind.

All she knew was that far too soon, she could hear Charlie shift, his heart beat pulled out of the lulled beating of a sleeping figure and into the alert, sharp taps of a conscious being.

It was time to go. She couldn't be found out.

Before Charlie ccould open his eyes, she was down the stairs and out the front door. She re-locked the door with the key Charlie leaves out in secret, in case she came back and was keyless. It has finally served its purpose, she supposed.

She returned to the shadows of the trees, preparing to make the long and tedious trek back south to where she's needed. She was allowed to come back every year on the anniversary of her human death, but Maria was begrudged to let her leave for long. Bella was her second in command. She needed her.

_Goodbye again_.

And with that she was gone. Back to the south and their never ending wars. Back to wage war with those who wished to take control. Back to Maria, her master and her only ally – her creator and her murderer.

Unsheddable tears blotted the world out, and the pain finally became too much.

She would not be back again.

_Goodbye, Forks; Goodbye, Charlie. _

_Love you._

And she would.

Until the end of time...

* * *

-Maggie


	2. Chapter One: Watching

**Author's Note: **This one is short, again, but the Cullen's don't truly come into it until further on in the story. Think of this as the second prologue, if you will.

Also, I know the Cullen's sounds differently than you're used to seeing them, but it all has a purpose. First off, every time we see the Cullen's, it's through Bella's eyes. Of course the vampires are humanizing themselves for her, so without the human around, they would be different. Second, I know they seem callous, but that's because Bella never meet Edward, therefore Edward never blood lusted after her and Alice never had visions of how important Bella would be to their family.

Just, please, give me a chance to explain them further as the story progresses. Just remember: Edward and Bella have never met; Carlisle has never treated her in the clinic: she has no relations with the Cullen clan.

**Chapter Music: **Help, I'm Alive, Metric

* * *

**Chapter One: Watching**

"She's leaving," Alice said, breaking the hour long silence between her and Edward. They were playing their one thousand, nine hundred and eighty second game of chess, and she was losing.

Edward glanced up from his white pieces, momentarily interested in something other than their game.

They both watched as the girl that was once Isabella Swan left the house she used to inhabit. She was going back to the south, to Maria. Alice found that regrettable, but entirely unavoidable. Maria's actions were not by choice, but by pure instinct. That wasn't something Alice could foresee.

"It's too bad about Charlie." Edward sighed, toying with his bishop before deciding against it, seeing from Alice that it was a bad move.

"Do you think Jasper is right?" Alice asked. While it was more convenient to speak in half-conversations with her brother, she wanted to fill the house with sound – its silence eerie.

Their conversation was generally taboo while Jasper was around, but since they were in Forks alone, monitoring Isabella's visit, they could talk about the two year fight freely.

"_Maria attacked a human." Alice said, stopping mid-motion. Her right foot hung in the air as she stood frozen in shock. It was very rarely that Alice felt surprise so strongly._

_"Who, when and where?" Jasper demanded as softly as he could. Essentially, he was the planner, the tactician, and of course, the only one with a long history with the insidious Maria._

_"The new girl, Isabella Swan, just now, and in front of her house." _

_Jasper grabbed her arm and towed her gently to the parking lot. The second bell was about to ring, and it seemed the Cullen's and Hale's would be missing their first classes of the day._

_By the time Alice and Jasper had reached the Volvo, Edward, Rosalie and Emmett were waiting for them._

_"Another move?" Rosalie assumed drily, studying her unchanging nails._

_"If Maria has in fact attacked the police chief's daughter, then no, we shouldn't have to move, per say." Edward responded, his pristine brow furrowed._

_"Wonderful, so we stay put." She said, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder and beginning to saunter away to make a dramatic entrance into her language class._

_"What do you mean, stay put?" Jasper demanded, recalling the attention of his surrogate twin. "We will be going to hunt down Maria and avenge the slain human." _

_"No," Alice said slowly, watching as a new future emerged. "Maria isn't going to kill her..." She watched as Maria pulled back just before she drained Isabella dry. Maria eyed the human before scooping her up and continuing on her path south-east, the burning human in her clutches. "She's taking her to fight."_

_"_No_," Jasper said, "we're not letting that happen." _

_"There's nothing we can do, Jasper." Rosalie insisted, "She's full of human blood and already on her way. Even Edward won't be able to catch her."_

_"You know I would follow you into battle if it were necessary," Emmett told him brother, "but it's superfluous."_

_"It's not superfluous, Emmett. I've _been _there. I've experienced what that girl will wake up in, and it isn't in the least bit pleasant. We have to fight for her." Like I wish people had fought for me. Jasper didn't need to say it. Alice knew what should have been tacked onto the end of his declaration. _

_She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, wishing she had been there for him when he was first changed. _

_"Jasper, it's impossible." Edward said, causing Jasper to growl. "I suppose we could convene with Esme and Carlisle." He sighed, bowing to his brother's mental abuse. _

But nobody had sided with Jasper, and for thirty-five years Isabella had remained in the south, much to Jasper's disdain.

"I think Jasper's heart was in the right place, but a war with Maria would have been foolish. Trying to take the human from her might have sparked a war between the north and the south. And _that_ would have been far worse than one more vampire being raised in the south." And with a rather firm sense of formality, he moved his queen and overtook Alice's rook, leaving her king wide open.

She sighed, watching the rest of the game unfold in her mind. With an air of defeat, she nudged her black king, making it tumble sadly to the chequered board.

"I believe that's nine hundred and ninety one games for me, nine hundred and ninety one games for you. A tie breaker, perhaps?" Edward proposed. After all these years, they were still at a tie.

"Another day, dear brother. For now I would like to go home to my husband and take him on a nice, long hunt. See you again, in Nunavut." Nunavut, Canada was the Cullen's current location. Rosalie detested it, and they would be moving somewhere closer to the unspoken boundary between north and south. That was why Edward and Alice had come back to Forks to secretly watch over Isabella, making sure she didn't destroy the town in a newborn-like blood lust.

"Enjoy," Edward smirked as Alice disappeared through the French doors and into the magnificent back yard. He yearned for someone to be the Alice to his Jasper, yet that person remained elusive to him.

So he sat back at let his mind wander to the poor human turned vampire in the south. Hopefully she would be fine without the Cullen's help, because after thirty-five years, she still wouldn't get any.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thank you very much to my nine reviewers. I appreciate all of your comments :) Please, review and tell me what you think, I respond to each review individually, no copy and pasted responses.

Thanks,

-Maggie


	3. Chapter Two: Ambush

**Author's Note: **I feel the need to say this now, before everyone gets attached to the romance that will surely come in Battle Scars. When it comes to writing, I'm extremely ADD. I get bored of plotlines easily, and tend to abandon the ideas that get little response. -cough-Hawaii-cough- But when I get reviews, I feel compelled to finish, because I don't want to let the people who were kind enough to review down.

I'm trying to stay more focused, and the fact that I'm making this stories chapter's shorter and that it's a rather dark tale is making it easy to keep up with right now. Reviews are love, which makes a nicer writing environment for me which makes me more compelled to stay interested in a story and finish it.

Thank you so much to those who reviewed last chapter. You really have no idea how much I appreciate it.

**Chapter Music: **Worlds On Fire, The Butterfly Effect

* * *

**Chapter Two: Ambush**

Even at night, it was hot.

At first, she had thought it would cool at night, since it _was _the desert. But no, the infernal and damning heat stayed. It was ever present: there when they hid in their stolen houses, there when they slaughtered each other by the moon's light.

It was always there.

The cold, distant moon stood attentively in the sky, peering down at her children as they emerged cautiously from their bases, watching for any ambush attacks.

Bella was one of those chosen.

She crept out of the house's back door, sliding the glass door – whose see-through panels were blotted out with black paint – open as quietly as she could before stepping lightly outside. If there was no one waiting for them as they exited the house, they were taking down Miguel's coven tonight. Maria wanted complete control of the south-east of Texas by the next full moon. Six days wasn't long.

Bella's heightened senses waited for a sign of an attack. She listened to the traitorous shuffling of feet, or the instinctual growl newborn's had the urge to release before pouncing, but she didn't hear it.

She took a few steps out onto the cracked earth, and still no one emerged. Feeling confident, Bella called back into the house, "It's safe!"

"That coward! He didn't even bother to try to take us out." Maria exclaimed, stepping delicately through the blackout door and into the blistering heat of hell.

"Maybe he didn't know," Bella suggested, craning her neck to keep a constant three-sixty guard on Maria.

"Of course he knew. Miguel isn't stupid, Bella. He would know." Maria frowned, her sentence trailing off.

"What?" Bella asked. She stopped, momentarily positive she saw something just on the horizon. The moonlight playing a trick on her infallible vision?

"Shit. Ambush." Maria grunted, high-tailing it back into the house and slamming the door closed behind her.

"Wait, what?" Bella called after her retreating mistress.

"Defend the base!" Maria called at her. In the glass' reflection, Bella saw him hurling at her. Not just a new born, but Miguel himself.

"Damn it, Maria, come fight me yourself!" He yelled at the glass, yanking off Bella's arm smoothly. She screeched, the pain of losing a limb oddly acute that night.

She leapt to the side, flinching as she felt him detach her five fingers before throwing the six separate pieces to the ground, ready for burning.

She could feel his mind probing somehow, searching. Maria had never told Bella what Miguel's vampiric talent was, but she could guess it had something to do with minds.

Bella's speciality.

With her remaining hand she leapt at him, her slender fingers forming lethal talons. Sharp nails dug down his back, forming five trenches. She trailed her claws down his left leg, and with an expert flick of her wrist, she cleanly severed the ankle; his left foot dropping uselessly to the ground.

Miguel spun to face Bella, his jaw clenched in pain and frustration. His gaze bore down on her, trying to burn her where she stood. Bella recognized this look: he was trying to use his mental power on her.

She smirked in a way she knew was infuriating and tapped the side of her head. "Immune."

Without any physical indication to warm her, Miguel sprung, launching himself at Bella with frightening speed and accuracy. His missing left foot did nothing to hinder him as he relieved her of her right leg from the knee down.

Her hyper-sensitive nerves screamed in protest, and the calf plus foot was added to the growing pile of limbs between the two of them.

"I need help," Bella sighed, her request floating through the air like a butterfly floats through a wind storm. It twisted and rippled, but finally, it rested on the ears of her comrades in arms.

Miguel sneered, and he lurched forward again. Bella flung her right arm out, hoping that she could catch a part of him before he took her other arm.

Fingers grasping frantically, her grip found purchase on his right leg, and with a sharp pull, the entire limb – from foot to hip – detached itself and rested in Bella's hand.

Miguel fell, unable to stay vertical without both of his feet. Bella threw the limb aside, unable to dismantle it more with only one hand.

Without a word, Bella ripped him limb from limb: both arms, the rest of the left leg, hips, torso, head. All that was Miguel came apart at the seams and laid in a neat pile with the rest of the marble body parts that had been shed during battle like layers of clothing on a hot day.

Bella retrieved her missing arm and leg, pressing them where they belonged until they fused back together into a solid mass of white limbs.

She was rolling her shoulders and kicking her leg when her fellow soldiers arrived, having dispatched of the untrained newborns before coming to help.

Yvonne and Hector gathered Miguel into two piles and set them ablaze, watching with the rest of Maria's army as the leader of the south-east disappeared in a column of smoke and a pile of ashes.

The sliding door creaked open, and Maria emerged, a victorious smile planted on her lips. Bella couldn't help the slip of disgust she felt towards her leader. Maria had abandoned her army in their time of need. No general does that to their soldiers.

"Well done, my darlings. We shall feast on the south-east tonight."

Animosity ebbed from Bella's body at the mention of a feast, and her now one-tracked mind didn't notice how skilfully Maria manipulated her army.

It didn't matter. She would be eating well that night.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'm terribly sorry that this chapter took so long to get out, but I was having some issues with the fight scene. Action sequences are not my forte, and also, the document manager crapped out on me, not letting me update for an extra days.

One more day of school left and then I'm swept up into the flurry of summer jobs and last minute get-together's. I promise, writing will take a forefront in my summer activities.

Reviews are love, and I would really appreciate it if you told me what you think about this story.

-Maggie


	4. Chapter Three: Destroyed

**Author's Note: **-coughs- This may be late. Not because I've abandoned it, but because I've been insanely busy. It's something different, and you probably won't be hearing from this character's point of view of the story for a long, long time, for which I'm glad for. He was crazy hard to write, especially at the end. Le sigh.

Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Music: **Mr. Hurricane, Beast

**Chapter Three: Destroyed**

Aro was positively giddy.

Beyond giddy, really. Ecstatic. Over-the-moon joyous.

There was a particularly annoying coven running rampant through the southern half of the United States and the northern half of Mexico. Demetri had identified the coven's leader was Maria, and – luckily – this was her third offence.

Aro was a firm believer in the 'three strikes, you're out' rule.

Aro, Caius and Marcus sat in the back of one of their several top of the line luxury cars. Their ruby eyes peered out through heavily tinted windows as Demetri barked directions to one of the new Volturi fledglings, brought along to prove their usefulness. Streaks of diamond like shimmers rose from the desert as the Guard kept pace with the car, ready for the destruction of yet another pesky Southern Coven.

It was really too bad they all just couldn't get along.

"Are you ready for the reaping, brothers?" Aro asked, whisper-fast in his excitement.

"This isn't our first, brother. You should know better then to let your emotions take such hold of you." Caius reprimanded.

"Did you not hear what Demetri said of this batch, Caius? The finest he said. The fastest, the strongest, the most gifted of all the southern covens. Did you not compare the names to our files? Maria was divine in choosing her army. It's rather a shame it must be destroyed." Aro sighed, imagining the sheet chaos Maria's army could bring to unruly covens all over the world. All would bow to the Volturi's might with her chosen by their side.

"The army must be purged of the weak and their leader must be destroyed. You know the rules, Aro." Of course, Caius' insatiable lust for rules kept him from revelling in the possibilities.

"We're here." The fledgling driver announced. He would be punished later for speaking out of turn. Perhaps he would exist a year without his arms. Or legs. Or another part of the anatomy male's would rather die then part with.

"Delicious." Aro's ancient eyes rested on the broken down 'base' with its black-painted windows and boarded up doors. It was admirable how much effort they put into hiding during the day. Unfortunately, their eating habits created quite a stir in the local towns. Enough, in fact, that rumours had floated across the ocean to Italy.

Two fledglings in dark cloaks opened the door for the three brothers, carrying black umbrellas to shade them from the revealing light. Aro had grown bored of the cloaks, and had opted for a form fitting suit instead. More professional for the transaction.

With fledgling and umbrella in tow, Aro walked to the painted sliding back door and rapped gently on the glass, not wanting to shatter it _just_ yet. The tinkling of glass and the shimmer of it laying in the baking heat would make the perfect exit.

Just what Aro wanted.

"Maria. We've come to visit." Aro said, hearing frantic steps and ragged breaths from the other side of the door. They were panicking. They knew better then to run.

The door cracked open, and the shimmering face of Maria peeked out, smiling the smile of desperation.

"Aro, my lord. We weren't expecting you. Please, may you and yours come in." She stepped aside, pushing the door further open. She knew better then to refuse them.

She led them into a poorly lit living room, her coven gathered nervously around the broken down fireplace. Aro spotted Cassandra, known for her amazing speed; Kevin, renowned for his ability to plant suggestions into other's minds; Ginny, the girl who could paralyze anyone with a glance. An amazing collection of vampires, all waiting to be reaped.

Aro perched on the tattered armchair, his brothers and guard standing around him. Maria's group was outmatched and outnumbered. Their fate was sealed.

"Maria, your army's feeding habits have caused some trouble for us. We have given you two previous warnings, and now you've used your third." The death sentence fell from Aro's lips like it was said everyday, and to the immortal, it might as well have been. He had seen more vampires die then he could count.

Maria fell forward out of her spot with her army. On her knees before Aro, she kissed his hand. "I'm sorry, Aro. Newborns are so hard to control. I promise, we will do better. One more chance, please." Begging did not look good on her.

"The rules stand as they have always stood, Maria." Caius interjected, drawing her frantic eyes onto him. "Your coven has broken the rules and you shall pay for it. The most talented of your group will come with us, while the rest will be destroyed along with you."

Maria's mouth gaped like a fish out of water. "N-no! You can't." Aro watched with a special kind of pleasure as she grasped for some menial reason why she should live. "I-I chose my army carefully, from their human state. I know these kinds of things. I could help you create a stronger guard."

Silly vampire.

"I'm sad to say Maria that your news holds no interest in us." Aro said as two of the guards grabbed her arms.

"You're fate has been sealed." Caius added. Marcus, as always, stood stonily silent on the fringe. If only he would quit his brooding over his wife's death. Aro had gotten past his sister's death _centuries_ago.

Aro watched with silent satisfaction as the two guards dragged a keening Maria outside into the stifling heat of midday, closing the door behind them.

"Name yourselves." Caius instructed the twelve members of the army. They trembled, cowed by the Volturi's might.

"Cassandra," a delectable redhead announced.

"Hector." A good looking brunet said, refusing to meet the eyes of the Volturi. The names came, faster and faster.

"Kevin."

"Ginny."

"Oscar."

"Yvonne."

"Gabriel."

"William."

"Hayley."

"Adam."

"Susan."

"Christopher."

Aro gazed at his twelve, picking who would stay and who would join their creator in her fate. "And this is all of you?" He asked, disappointed that only four were really needed in the guard.

The one named Adam - slated for destruction - opened his mouth, but Susan - who would be added to the guard - elbowed his ribs, the satisfying crunch of broken bones ringing in the still air.

"Who is missing?" Caius demanded, snapping his fingers. Felix moved forward and grabbed hold of Adam's left arm, pulling it back until it was ready to snap apart with a twitch of a muscle.

Adam shrieked in pain. "Bella! She's Maria's right hand. She's not here. We don't know where she went, but Maria sent her away to do something!"

Aro looked back at Jane, who stood half-way out of the sliding door, her skin hidden by a cloak. She shook her head. Maria had already been taken care of. Felix released the pitiful vampire, who rubbed his shoulder pathetically.

"Who can tell me of Bella?" Aro asked, leaning forward. From the way Adam shuddered, Aro supposed he had a rather menacing look on his face.

"Only Maria knows anything about her." Cassandra, the redhead sighed after a long stretch of silence.

Damn. The fates be cursed.

"Susan, Cassandra, Hector, Yvonne." Aro said, and then he nodded. The ones whose name wasn't called looked immensely relieved, thinking the four he called were to be killed. How their faces changed when the guard moved in and grabbed the eight others, dragging them outside to their death.

With their horrified and sickened expressions burned in his permanent memory, Aro laughed.

And he didn't stop until he was back in Italy with his four prizes.

**A/N:**

Hope y'all enjoyed it! It was...interesting. Aro is a loony toon for sure.

Oh! If any of you read the Cullen's in Classes Sequence, after a short (and unintentional) hiatus, Bella in Business will be posted within the week. It's almost finished. Then it's Emmett in English and then its over! Exciting.

Have a pleasant day!

-Maggie


	5. Chapter Four: Conflict

**Author's Note: **Eh, the song for this chapter doesn't really match. It's a result of being ready to bang my forehead against the keyboard because I couldn't find the proper music and the absolute need to include this song in the story.

Technically, this chapter wasn't supposed to exist. Damn thing worked its way in without my meaning it to.

**Chapter Music: **Dear Maria, Count Me In, All Time Low

**Chapter Four: Conflict**

* * *

"Maria holds no ill feelings towards your desertion all those years ago. She merely wishes that you come back and help her fight Pietro's coven. If she were to defeat him, she would become the ruler of the south." Bella said, leaning forward in the Lay-z-boy chair.

"She _has _always dreamed for total domination." Peter mused. Charlotte increased the pressure of her hand over his, hoping negative reinforcement would keep her mate out of the fray.

Bella had run up to visit the ex-soldiers two days ago and they had spent the entire time arguing. Maria sent her right hand woman up to gather as many once soldiers as she could in the hopes of strengthening the army to take out Pietro, the current holder of Mexico City, the last feeding ground out of Maria's control.

"No, Peter. We left, we can't go back." Charlotte murmured, as though Bella wouldn't be able to hear her. Bella watched as the couple battled each other with facial expressions and soft noises, their bodies pressed so closely on the couch that they seemed to be one.

Bella wanted that. She wanted to be so in sync with one person that words weren't needed; that they two became one.

But she couldn't. Her other half had to be Maria. Otherwise the army would fall and Bella would be alone. The coven was all she had.

Still, she could pretend.

"Have you spoken with Jasper yet?" Peter asked, an outraged look on his mate's face.

"How could you?" Charlotte cried, wrenching her hands out of Peter's grasp and leaving the couch all together. "When we all left Maria, we agreed to protect each other!"

Bella spoke before Peter and Charlotte could get into a shouting match that could last hours. Bella needed to get back south before all hell loose without her. "I wasn't told of a Jasper. He left Maria with you?"

Charlotte glared at her. "He was once what you are now. He chose to leave Maria and her vile ways, like we did. I will not go back." The fierce gaze was turned on her mate before she stormed out of the room, days of pursuing and needling snapping back on Bella. She had lost Charlotte.

Peter sighed. "I can't go without her. Tell Maria I'm sorry." He stood, "You can let yourself out."

Bella stood, dumbfounded, as Peter left the room after his mate, calling apologies at a human decibel.

Damn, she had lost them both. Maria would be livid.

Maybe she could redeem herself by retrieving this Jasper? That would be good. Returning her long lost predecessor would offset the loss of two ex-soldiers any day.

"Peter?" She called, keeping in tone with his human volume. "Do you know where Jasper lives?"

"Tell her and I'll leave you, Peter!" Charlotte hissed.

"No," He replied from upstairs, outside the closed bedroom door. "We don't know. His family moves every couple years. He always stays north though, far away from the southern wars."

"Peter!" Charlotte shrieked, and the groan of a door being ripped off its hinges rang through the house.

"Do you know how big the_ north_ is? That's all of northern America and Canada!"

"She could still figure it out! Don't you remember how _imaginative_ Maria got when she wanted something?"

"Of course I do, but _all the north_? That's a hell of a lot of space for even a vampire to track in!"

"Do you know anything more specific?" Bella called to them, but the couple upstairs was done with her. They were having a relationship meltdown.

"Just because you're older doesn't mean you can disregard what I say!" Charlotte yelled.

"I _always_ listen to what you have to say!" Peter retorted.

"Thanks, bye." Bella murmured, slamming the door behind her. She stood on their porch, first looking north to where Jasper had to be hiding, and then back to the south to where Maria and her army sat, waiting for Bella to return.

With a sigh, she turned south and started her trek back home. She _really_ wasn't looking forward to returning home empty handed, but she missed home.

And an unwelcome return was far better then no return at all.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Duh duh dun! We know what she's going to go home to!

Hope y'all like the totally unplanned chapter!

-Maggie


	6. Chapter Five: Freed

**Author's Note: **-laughs- I totally lied! _Now_ it's 'the next chapter will be Bella's reaction'. Promise. There _can't _be anything else that goes before it.

This one's itty bitty. Just a little blurb so you know what's happening in the house of Cullen.

I'm so, so, _so_ sorry if I didn't review reply to you last chapter. It's not like I had an abundance of them -rolls eyes- but I've been crazy busy and hardly got to stop to read them. Promise, I'll go back and reply to them _and _the one's from this chapter -fingers crossed- in a couple of minutes. I think you want this first, though.

**Chapter Music: **Free, Valencia

**Chapter Five: Freed**

* * *

"Oh." Alice gasped, the power of her vision forcing her upright. Jasper ghosted her movements so they sat side-by-side on their bed. Eyes squeezed shut, she watched the southern vampire Bella as she reacted to a new twist. She couldn't believe what she saw.

Jasper had never felt his wife feel so shocked and so happy and so…right. Like the world had finally fallen into place for her. "What's going to happen?"

"Maria's gone." Alice breathed, opening her eyes and watching Jasper's open wide as saucers.

"…Gone? As in…?"

"As in, will be terminated by the Volturi within the day." She watched as Jasper took in the news of the destruction of his creator.

"Gone…" He tested the word in his mouth, as though it was a trap. "She's gone." He said slowly.

His hesitant words stabbed at Alice. He seemed almost upset that she was gone.

But then he was up, fast for a vampire, and the smile on his face was euphoric.

"She's gone, Alice! I'm free. No more will she haunt me." He declared, almost giddy with his relief. He had been freed. "What will happen to her army?"

Alice's face screwed up for a moment before clearing. "Aro will take the one's he likes best and then dispose of the rest." Jasper nodded. This was textbook. Every vampire in the south was taught what would happen if they were foolish and careless.

"What of Bella? Will they take her as well?"

"No, Maria sent her away to talk to Peter and Charlotte. She'll be missed by the Volturi." Alice said, watching as Charlotte and Peter had a lovers spat and Bella leaving, unnoticed, to find her whole world destroyed.

"What will happen to her then? Where will she go?"

"She won't know where to go. She'll almost be destroyed by Nicolette's army as she waits around, looking for purpose. But she'll escape and..." _No_, Alice thought. "She'll come looking for you. Peter told her about you. She wants to talk to you, but even she doesn't know why."

Jasper's brow furrowed, but suddenly, almost as if he were Alice, he could see the future pan out. He would find Bella, and he would help her adjust to the vegetarian diet. He could help her like he had wanted to all those years ago when Maria was dragging her south.

"No, Jasper. She's dangerous." Alice breathed, seeing Jasper's plan unfurl.

"But don't you see, Alice? She's just like me. We can help her!"

"But she's not like you! You left Maria because you knew what she was doing was wrong! Bella had no choice. She was left homeless by the Volturi." Alice spat at him, but he wasn't going to listen. He was already planning to convene with Carlisle about it, and knowing her father figure, he would agree to Jasper's ludicrous plan. "Jasper," Alice moaned, "you can't! She could hurt you."

Jasper looked at his wife intently. "No more than I could hurt you, love. I'll know what she's feeling. If I feel her becoming unreasonable and hostile, I'll leave. Promise. I'll bring Emmett with me, for backup." He could feel her emotions swaying like a palm tree in an ocean's breeze, but he knew she would agree. She was Alice. Like him to her, she would deny him nothing.

"Emmett _and _Edward." She said stubbornly.

"Wonderful." He kissed her once on the nose and then again on the mouth. "I need to go talk to them and Carlisle."

Alice sighed as Jasper left the room. She wasn't sure about this at all, but he was determined that it would work out, and she was determined to follow him to the ends of the earth and back.

* * *

**Author's Note: **A couple people asked me when Bella would meet the Cullen's - at least, I'm pretty sure somebody did. I might have hallucinated it, but I really hope not - and here's their answer! A delegation from the Cullen clan! Yay!

Is it hot anywhere else? It's like, mid-thirties in south-west Canada, which is super rare. If I disappear off the face of the planet, it's not because I forgot to post, but because I've melted.

Thanks so much for reading! Stay tuned for Bella's reaction. And it _is_ next, promise!

-Maggie


	7. Chapter Six: Alone

**Author's Note: **A thousand apologies about how late this is. My only defence is that I suffered the worst case of writer's block I've ever had. Ever. It was hideous. But I won't bore you with the details, because this chapter has taken far too long to make it's appearance.

Sorry if it's, for lack of a better word, shitty. I'm still getting back into the swing of things.

**Chapter Music: **Monster Hospital, Metric

* * *

**Chapter Six: Alone**

Wind whipped thought Bella's long brown hair as she ran full tilt towards her home. Her vampire eyes didn't dry out as they were attacked by cold, two hundred miles and hour air and her shimmering limbs were a blur to all eyes but hers. She was getting closer to her surrogate family, and for that fact, she felt significant relief. No matter how much worry she felt because of her failure with Peter, she missed Maria and her fellow soldiers.

Rushing past bushes and boulders used to landmark the base, she knew there was something wrong by the smell. The usual smell of desert sand and the army was replaced with the bitter sweetness of smoke. It choked her nose until there was nothing else.

Next, she could see it. Black tendrils curled lazily skywards, the last remains of an all consuming fire, the distinct shade of a vampire-killing pyre.

Fear crawled through Bella and rooted itself in her mind, rendering rational thought useless as she pushed herself faster than ever before, desperate to get home. Maybe she missed a fight. She'd be getting home to join her fellow soldiers in a celebratory feast. Her failures would be overshadowed by her army's win.

But something inside her knew that it couldn't be the case.

"Maria!" She yelled, her feet flying faster than they ever had before, kicking up a small dust storm in her wake.

_This can't be happening_, she thought, _I can't be alone._

Panic seeped through her as she stopped on a dime, surveying the wreckage. The safe house was a pile of ashes, the smoke pouring from the destroyed building. She could smell them all, her fallen comrades, in the middle of the pyre. They had been burned. Wiped away. Her family. The wind shifted, and she groaned, sinking to her knees in front of her once home.

"Maria," Bella cried, the shift bringing the whiff of her creator from within the pyre.

Heart breaking, Bella sat in the sand, watching the fire crackle as it died, it's life ending as it had ended the lives of her family. The wind kicked up again, this time coming from the west, bringing new smells. A car - no, _cars_. New vampires never smelt before. Susan, Cassandra, Hector, Yvonne. They left with the new vampires. An army of new vampires. Went into cars. Drove away, to the west. Where?

Bella stood shakily, her knees locking as she tried to stay upright. Her family was torn apart. She would follow the new vampires as long as she could.

But before she got even two steps in that direction, the wind shifted once more, bringing new, more familiar smells.

"Nicolette," she growled before lurching to the right, closer to the ruins, dodging a gray haired vampire as she streaked past Bella. Nicolette, leader of the north-western coven smiled at Bella as she straightened herself.

"I see someone beat us here. Or did you do this yourself? Tired of following Maria's orders?" She taunted, and Bella snapped, not thinking of the army that was surrounding her and Nicolette. Hands bent into claws, Bella flew at Nicolette, determined to rip the older vampire's head off and feed it to the flames, like her family was.

Nicolette ducked the attack and grabbed Bella's ankle, throwing her into the flames in one smooth motion. Bella shrieked, clawing her way out of the dying pyre to find herself surrounded by Nicolette and her army. She wanted to die. To go out with a fight and end the pain in her heart. But the survival instinct beaten into her was stronger, and she sought for a way to flee. Where would she go? She could almost feel her remaining family getting farther away, and the tracks were dissolving as Nicolette's army stomped through them.

Jasper.

The man she replaced. He would have answers for her, wouldn't he? He's survived without Maria, hadn't he?

With barely a coherent thought in her mind, Bella found the weakest link in the army's perimeter and launched herself at him, teeth bared, snarling. The newborn faltered, just for a second, but it was enough time for Bella to get her talons into his eyes and blind him, rendering him useless and her gate out of the place she once called home.

Hands clawed at her legs and powers probed her mind, but she was well trained, and she escaped both, running as fast as she could back towards the town, where the army wouldn't dare follow her. She ran north, to safety, to her escape. Especially, though, it led to Jasper. Who would be answering questions, whether she forced them out of him or not.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Expect updates to come fast and furiously over the next couple months. I plan for this to be finished and completed by November. And if, for some reason, it's not finished by then, it'll be going on a month long hiatus. I'll be entering National Novel Writing Month, and that'll take priority.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for more.

-Maggie


	8. Chapter Seven: Collision

**Author's Note: **I'm oh so sorry for the colossal wait you had for this chapter. I kind of dropped the ball on the whole 'ultra fast' updates, and I really am sorry.

This chapter is dedicated to EverlastingMuse, for reminding me to update.

And a _huge_ thank you to those who have reviewed the story thus far. I was reading them all for inspiration, and y'all make me so happy :) So, thank you!

_Quick Story Re-Cap: Before Bella's first day of Forks High, she was bitten by Maria, who was in town to visit Jasper. 35 years later, Maria and her coven has been destroyed by the Volturi, minus the few he decided to take as prizes, and Bella, who was out of the state on business for Maria. Upon returning home, Bella finds her family destroyed, and is out looking for Jasper, who is the only person she knows of who could possibly hold any answers for her of her existence._

And without further ado, chapter seven...

**Chapter Music: **Heading For Nowhere, Jets Overhead

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Collision**

Even though she hadn't wanted to, Alice had pointed them in the right direction, telling them where, in the future, they would cross paths with a very angry and confused Isabella Swan. Emmett had been on board from the moment the idea had crossed Jasper's lips, but Edward had taken more convincing, not wanting to get in between Bella and her search for vengeance. It was only Alice's visions and temper that made him come.

They stood in a clearing not too far from their house that bordered north and south territory. Ancient trees of all descent towered over them, providing welcomed relief from the ever pounding sun. It was best not to attract attention until it was absolutely necessary, and according to Alice, that would be soon.

Jasper stood in front of his brothers, hoping that he would be the first person she saw. Emmett and Edward flanked him, standing slightly back, ready to jump in at a moment's notice. Emmett was rocking on his heels in excitement on Jasper's left and Edward's gaze was swinging back and forth on his right.

"Any second now," Edward breathed, replaying Alice's vision over and over again. Bella was to storm in rather violently, trying to attack Jasper as soon as he identified himself. Emmett would hold her while Edward and Jasper would talk her down and convince her to come home with them to talk to Carlisle and the rest of the family. It was sketchy from then, but Alice was sure if they could get Bella back to the house, all would be well.

Edward was fairly certain it would end in bloodshed. Bella was a temperamental, unstable vampire. It would be better to end her misery and go on with their lives, but Jasper wouldn't have it, meaning neither would Alice.

Sighing, Edward continued his scans on the forested areas, hoping to be the first to spot her.

Turned out, Emmett would see her first.

"Shit, she looks mad." He cursed under his breath, taking a defensive stance. Edward swung his gaze to where Emmett was staring, just in time to see Bella burst through the trees at full tilt and stop just in time to not collide with Jasper.

She looked confused, and Edward assumed she was going to just go around them, but her eyes narrowed as she studied Jasper, as though recognizing him.

"Do I know you?" She asked, nostrils flaring as she took in their scents.

Jasper cleared his throat, "My name is Jasper Whitlock."

Bella's eyes sparked with something dangerous, and Emmett took a step forward, putting him level with Jasper.

"_You_...you're Jasper. Maria's Jasper?" She demanded, her voice low. Edward took a step forward, putting himself flush with his brothers. He had seen this through Alice: Jasper would admit to being the one Bella sought, and she would attack.

"No, not Maria's, not anymore." Jasper said in an even tone, his tawny eyes never leaving Bella's restless form. She frowned, her brow scrunching, and Edward realized that something was wrong.

She wasn't attacking like in Alice's vision.

And he couldn't hear what was going on in her head.

Edward took another step forward, tilting his head to the side as his eyes bore tunnels into her skull, trying to find the secrets she had somehow locked away from him. How was she keeping him out? He had never encountered a mind he couldn't read.

Bella eyed him warily as she came to her conclusion. Returning her focus to Jasper, all the while staying aware of the tall, bronze haired predator that crept towards her. All of the emotions she had kept at bay with her determination to find Jasper spilled out. "I don't know what to do."

Jasper couldn't believe his luck. He had felt Alice's panic as she felt the future shift, had felt Edward's frustration when he acted like he was deaf. Edward couldn't read Bella's thoughts, so Jasper was sure he wouldn't be able to influence her emotions.

But he studied her influx of feelings as she stood there, deliberating what he had said, and with subtle prods and pulls, had brought all of her unstable and upset emotions as he gently buried the violent ones. He almost sighed with relief when she admitted not knowing what to do, her voice breaking in the middle, unsheddable tears welling in her big brown eyes.

Although he knew what emotions she was under the influence of, he had never expected her to cross the distance between them and rest her forehead against his chest.

"I need help." She whispered into his shirt, and he felt Emmett's shock and Edward's confusion. They had been expecting a more violent encounter, and yet, here stood Isabella, resting her head on Jasper.

"We will help you. You are welcome with us until you find the answers you need." He replied softly, much to the disapproval of Edward. Emmett, luckily enough, felt some kind of kinship with the broken girl, and put his hand on her shoulder and steered her back to the house at a nice, even human pace. Jasper and Edward stood in the clearing, watching them retreat until they were out of hearing range.

"I know you played with her emotions." Edward said, his eyes still trained on the direction Bella and Emmett had left.

"I know," Jasper sighed, rubbing his eyes with one scarred hand.

"Then you know when your effect on her wears off, she will look for answers, and she will be angry."

Jasper nodded, "Very angry."

Edward turned to his brother. "Then _why_? Why calm her down to only have her attack later?"

"Because she's been angry for the past two days. She needs to feel something different now." Jasper turned sad eyes on Edward before he started his trek back to the house, where his wife waited anxiously for him so they could discuss the new turn of events.

Edward stayed behind, thinking what a bad idea this was.

_It will be up to me to stop her.

* * *

_

**Author's Note: **Side note: Bella's only so weepy because Jasper's made her that way. Believe me; this Bella and Book Bella don't coincide with her whole 'I forgive you everything!' attitude. No, this Bella is the type that gets pissed. Shit will go down.

It's gonna be great.

Again, a thousand apologies for leaving you alone for so long. But on the plus side, I won NaNoWriMo. Yay?

If anyone has any music you think would match the kind of scheme I've set up (Indie-Alternative), please let me know! I've run out of viable options at the moment, and I'd love to hear from y'all.

Thanks!

-Maggie


	9. Chapter Eight: Unsure

**Author's Note: **Happy Holidays! Well, I wrapped all my Christmas presents today, and I thought I'd give y'all a present too. Thus, the new chapter. Yes, it's little, but this shant be the last one till the new year, so never fear.

Super special thanks to my reviewers: the little sax that could, Wishes and Words and Etcetera , Jazzys Mistress, Nissa-Cullen, mnov29, Katara97, JrocksAnime, Me Bored. inc , Eminnis, cullenbaby94, crazyhypervampiregurl, LordXeenTheGreat, White Wolf, loupants, and Halfwaytothedevil333. Thank you all for your support and encouragement :D

**Chapter Music: **Lovely Bones, Gabriel the Marine

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Unsure**

Alice paced back and forth, her hands wringing together as the future shifted and danced in front of her, slippery because of indecision. She could see brief glances of Emmett walking Isabella back to the house, of Edward sulking, acting like the sullen protector while the family warmed up to her, of Jasper helping her through her grief.

Carlisle was still at the hospital, but Alice had called him, wanting to warn him of the new, strange vampire that would be camping over the next few days. Esme had moved all of the priceless heirlooms they had collected over the years and stored them in a storage unit, not wanting to leave them out in the open while the possibly hostile vampire stayed under her custom roof, and Rosalie was pouting, huffing around the house with her nose buried in fashion magazines and tossing her blonde hair around like a model in a shampoo commercial.

Back and forth, back and forth, Alice's ballet slippers ghosted across the premium hardwood floor with nothing but a whisper betraying her pacing. Esme sped down the stairs and watched with her head tilted as the girl she considered her daughter tried to create a moat in her living room.

"Alice, you need to stop worrying." Esme said kindly, closing the distance between them in an instance and wrapping her arms around the petite girl. "You can't see anything bad happening."

"That's the problem." She sighed, rolling her shoulders in her adopted mother's arms. "I _can't_ see much of anything. Jasper's placating her right now, but she hasn't made any decisions as how she'll react if she gets angry. I _do_ know that Edward isn't above killing her if she threatens us, and I _do_ know that Jasper will do anything to protect her."

"Well then we will do everything we can to protect ourselves while helping her. I don't want to see her die anymore than you do." Esme replied, rubbing Alice's arm and then releasing her.

Alice sighed and rubbed her forehead, frustrated. She wasn't used to feeling so unsure about the future, and the uneasy flip in her stomach reminded her how veiled their futures were.

She heard the ragged breaths first, causing her head to snap up and her eyes to pin-point the distinct rustle in the brushes of someone coming. Alice heard Emmett's low, calming voice next as he uncharacteristically put jokes aside and soothed the girl, whose quick, shallow breaths floated underneath Emmett's pacifying murmurs.

"They're here." Alice said aloud, even though it was unnecessary. Both Rosalie and Esme had heard the approach of Emmett and the new girl, and had appeared to flank Alice almost instantly. Esme smoothed her green sundress in nervousness while Rosalie examined her nail beds, her posture screaming 'I don't care'.

Emmett and Isabella finally made it up the back porch and he slid the glass door open and ushered Isabella inside and directed her to the nearest bathroom so she could freshen up. Rosalie glared at her husband as he passed her, his arms wrapped around the new girl, but Alice didn't pay them any mind. She only had eyes for her husband, who had just emerged into the clearing. She waited until he entered the house and embraced her, his grip almost, but not quite too tight.

Edward brought up the rear, closing the door behind them. He was frowning, and Esme hugged him, murmuring for him to relax and that everything would be okay. Alice knew from the quick glance she spared him that he didn't believe that, and wouldn't until Isabella was gone, and from Jasper's hug, she knew he wouldn't let Isabella be driven away.

She sighed. Things had gotten so much more complicated.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Happy Holidays, guys and gals!

-Maggie


	10. Chapter Nine: Alien

**Author's Note: **Voila, before New Years!

Have a fabulous last couple days of '09, and see you in 2010, darlings. I'd just like to note that I'm being very good and just gave you the biggest chapter ever! Yes, over 2,000 words.

Super special thanks to my reviewers: Wishes and Words and Etcetera, melaniecullen96, Jilly-Bean-Bug, the little sax that could, Andrea97, JRocksAnime, Eminnis, LordXeenTheGreat, and crazyypervampiregurl

**Chapter Music: **Light A Way, He Is We

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Alien**

Bella stared at her reflection in the expensive looking mirror in Jasper Whitlock's bathroom. She wasn't quite sure why she was directed to get freshened up, but even a super nose could be tricked into not noticing body odour after so long, she supposed.

Using the plethora of shampoos, conditioners, and body washes available, Bella got clean, washing away the smell of smoke, burning limbs and desert dust under the hot stream of the shower.

She thought back on her fallen comrades, of her slain leader, her invaded home and she was filled with a swell of sadness, a new wave of unshedable tears prickling at her fading red eyes. She could feel the burn eating away at the back of her throat and her fingers curled into claws instinctively, needing to tear into the deliciously soft skin to reveal her lifeline...

Bella shook her head and turned off f the water. She should know better, to get so distracted and to let her guard down so much in hostile territory. After spending so long in war, Bella learned she found it hard to trust, and she didn't trust this situation.

Jasper Whitlock was the reason her human life was snatched.

Maria was the reason she lost her humanity in the sands of the south.

The Volturi were the reason she lost her home.

Only one was accessible and, possibly irrationally, the focus of her emotions.

Bella stepped out of the shower and dried off. Ignoring the clean clothes that had been laid out for her to borrow, she re-dressed in her dirty, stained ones. She trusted them, knew how her limbs moved in them. She would need every advantage now, her military training told her. Don't let them throw you off. Keep the upper hand for as long as you can.

Quirking her head to the side, she listened to the multitude of conversations playing out on the other side of the bathroom door. The nice big one that led her back to the house was having an angry conversation with a woman. They were arguing about her and how she didn't belong in the house and how the girl thought he was being too friendly with Bella. Jasper Whitlock reassured another woman with a Tinkerbelle voice that everything would be okay and how he would help rehabilitate Bella into the Cullen's world. The tall one that looked like he had a stick up his ass was complaining to yet another woman, who soothed him with the tones of a mother. He thought Bella shouldn't be there, that she would be a danger.

Bella flashed a terrifying grin and sauntered into the main room with the other six, her sadness evaporating like a puddle in mid-day summer.

"Thanks for letting me have a shower." Bella said modestly, schooling her face into the most sincere expression she could manage. Jasper frowned, brow furrowing as he looked _past_ Bella, or so it felt like. Almost as if he was trying to x-ray her.

A tall blonde woman, strikingly beautiful, sniffed and scowled, a look of outrage flashing on her Barbie Doll face. "You used my body wash!" She exclaimed, taking a predatory step forward. Was she really going to start a fight over the wonderful smelling gel in the shower? Bella couldn't believe it. In the desert, you fought over prey, shelter and territory. There were never ownership qualms over bath products. Even when she had been human, those things had seemed trivial.

"It was in the shower I was offered to wash up in. I assumed it was _allowed_ that I used it." She replied, injecting just the right amount of venom to be biting, but not enough to provoke physical confrontation.

"Emmett!" She snapped, turning to face the nice, curly haired boy. "You let her do that!"

"How was I supposed to know, Rose? Just, relax. I'll buy you more if you want me to." He offered but she stuck her nose into the air and stalked off.

What an utterly selfish and spoiled girl.

With an apologetic glance to Bella and his coven, Emmett followed after the girl.

"Sorry about Rosalie, she needs some time to get used to the new arrangement." Jasper said, his arm slung around a petite brunette girl. The engagement and wedding rings nestled on the girls left hand brought about a surprising title: Wife.

She'd never met a _married_ vampire couple before.

Stick boy with the red-brown hair stood next to a caramel colour haired vampire, who also had wedding bands on her finger. Were they married as well? No...that didn't feel right. She had too much of a maternal air to be betrothed to someone as young looking as him.

"Let me introduce everyone," Jasper said cordially, probably noticing Bella's probing gaze. "This is Alice, my wife." The small girl waved slightly, but seemed distracted, her odd yellow eyes looking somewhere else. "The woman that just stormed out was Rosalie, she's with Emmett, who chased after her." With as in married as well? A coven filled with married couples. How odd.

"This is Esme, her mate Carlisle is out. He works at the local hospital." The maternal woman smiled gracefully, and Bella tried to return it. That made perfect sense! A vampire working in a hospital. Genius. He had complete access to humans that couldn't fight back. Maybe the medicine in the blood was what caused their eyes to be so odd...

"And that's Edward." Stick Boy didn't have the attachment of his mate's name.

"No missus?" Bella asked, not able to keep the small barb out of her voice. In the company of humans, it would have gone unnoticed, but with the super-hearing bestowed upon them with vampire status, the entire room heard it.

Stick boy stiffened even more, if that were even possible and stuck his nose in the air, rather like Rosalie before she huffed off. "No."

Fabulous comeback, Bella thought sarcastically.

Jasper cleared his throat, and the awkwardness that had descended on them cleared slightly. "Everyone, this is Isabella Swan."

"That's not my name." Bella said on rote, used to having to correct everybody on the use of her full name. Before she could tell them, the entire mood of the room shifted to distrust, as Jasper shifted in nervousness and a special kind of pity filled Esme's eyes.

"Did...Did Maria re-name you?" He asked slowly. Comprehension dawned on Bella. They thought she had been brain washed by Maria? Given a slave name and all that?

She snorted. "No. Even as a human I went by Bella instead of my full name." Jasper rightfully looked embarrassed.

"Would you like me to take you for a tour?" He asked her. No, she didn't really want to go on a tour. She was starting to feel her anger rise again as she thought about his life, with his friendly coven, and his nice house, and how if he had just stayed with Maria, her father wouldn't be dead and _she _would be the married one, the happy one, human.

But then suddenly, her emotions flip-flopped on her and anger drained away like it was never there and was replaced by a startling bout of curiosity. She _wanted_ to see the house.

"Yes, thank you." She said, startling herself. But she was so _curious._

The rest of Jasper's coven melted away, dispersing to resume their regular activities. Bella could still hear Emmett and Rosalie fighting upstairs. Well, Rosalie fought, Emmett tried to placate.

"Well, let's start here. This is the living room." Jasper said. High ceilings, big windows, a glass door that led to a secluded back yard. It was gorgeous. Filled with antique and nouveau furniture, it made Bella's previous base look like a dump. Which it was, but that was beside the point. The room was airy, with bright fresh colours dominating the walls.

"Esme built and furnished the whole thing herself. She's the mother of the family." Jasper explained, leading Bella into the kitchen. Impressive state of the art washing machines and food prepares sat on expensive counters. She sniffed, and count smell human food sitting in the cupboards and fridge.

"Are your eyes so odd because you eat human food? How do you stand it?" She asked, holding her breath as much as necessary. She had only been exposed to the stuff when she made her annual trip to Charlie's. It was disgusting, smelling like rotten eggs and dead carcass and gasoline from when she was human.

Jasper laughed, "No, our eyes are this colour because we drink from animals, not humans." He said, leading her back into the hallways and into a side room, where the only piece of furniture was a gorgeous grand piano.

"But then what is the point of one of yours working in a hospital if not to acquire weak and easy prey?" Jasper coughed in surprise as they made a quick pass of the dining room, where a lovely oak dining table sat, seating eight.

"Carlisle, the head of the family, works there because he cares about people. He wants to help them, so he became a doctor. He's almost completely immune to the smell of human blood now." Jasper explained as they climbed the first flight of stairs.

"Why do you keep calling your coven a family?" They skipped past the first door on the left, because the heated voices of Rosalie and Emmett came from that room, their bedroom.

"Because we are a family, Bella." He said, stopping the tour to look at her intently. "We may be vampires, but we try to live our lives as humans. We love and care about each other, which is why we call ourselves family. Carlisle and Esme are our parents, Alice is my wife, Emmett and Edward are my brothers, and Rosalie is my sister."

It was a bizarre concept to Bella. She only half paid attention as Jasper restarted the tour, showing her Carlisle's study, Esme's workshop, his parent's bedroom, his study, his and Alice's bedroom, up another flight of stairs, a spare bedroom, Edward's bedroom, and finally, the last door on the right. Jasper made to skip it, but Bella's intense curiosity took over, and she moved ahead without him and opened the door.

Inside, millions of hand drawn pictures and sketches adorned the walls, organized into some kind of timeline, which ran around the room, painted in black.

"This is Alice's room. She's been trying to map out the future as best as she can, but it keeps changing." He said, gesturing to the large recycling bin filled with crumpled sketches, futures changed and discarded.

Bella scanned the room, her interest piqued when she spotted dates that hadn't occurred yet. Hydrogen cars officially replace fossil fuelled ones, the first successful human clone. Those and more took place in Alice's future.

"How does she know?" Bella asked, completely engrossed in the drawing of the first Oriental president of the United States in the future.

"You know that some people are born into the vampire world with gifts. Yours in mental silence, yes?" He asked. Bella nodded, well aware that people could be super-powered. It had been one of her tasks to track down those who exhibited early stages of it in their human states.

"Well, we have three super-charged people here, not including Emmett's strength, Rosalie's vanity, Esme's capacity to love and Carlisle's compassion. Alice can see the future as based on other's decisions and Edward can read minds." He explained, painting the picture of a very powerful family.

Bella turned around to face Jasper, confused that he hadn't included himself in his explanation. "And you? What can you do? What made you so special to Maria?"

Jasper shifted uncomfortably. "I'm an empath. I can control other's emotions."

Bella's brow furrowed, confused. So he could make people feel things? Why was he so nervous about that?

Then it dawned on her. Her flip=flopping emotions, how her anger would disappear and would be replaced by something less violent. Her curiosity, her overwhelming grief...

"You've been manipulating me." She growled, and when Jasper didn't deny it, she knew.

And then she attacked.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Oh snap! Yes, yes I did just leave you with a cliffhanger for the new year. Such a meanie, I am.

Anyways, I didn't really edit this, cause I was in a rush to finish before I went to my little nephews first birthday (what a cutie!) and alas, I'm tired and really want to play wii. I _think_ I did okay, oui? I got a little lazy with the house details, but use your imagination :)

Expect a new chapter in...two weeks. Yes, that sounds good. Feel free to abuse me with your words if I forget.

Hope you enjoyed it. Have a fantastic new years, stay safe, and see you in 2010!

-Maggie


	11. Chapter Ten: Exhausted

**Author's Note: **This is late. But really, what else can be expected from me? I'm the master of late posts.

To be honest, this didn't go up until now because I didn't want to write this. It wasn't like, 'oh, we're near the end and I'm going to miss it' or anything. It was just general not wanting to write it. I'm not feeling much drive here, guys. I'm going to try, though, promise.

This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers. This chapter wouldn't be done if you didn't want it.

Super special thanks to my reviewers: Katara97, AnEmotionalVampire, LordXeenTheGreat, crazyhypervampiregurl, Eminnis, Jilly-Bean-Bug, Wishes and Words and Etcetera, the little sax that could, Nissa-Cullen (x2), JRocksAnime, Twixter, heal my bleeding heart, the sweet smelling one, adricullenhale, chrisemmit and becca.

**Chapter Music: **Annie Taylor, The Lives of Famous Men

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**Chapter Ten: Exhausted**

Jasper knew he probably shouldn't have been so surprised at her speed since he had learnt to fight in the same place she did, but he was. Quite unpleasantly so.

Bella flung herself at him and he just barely managed to whip himself out of her clutches. His mind was racing, trying to find ways to subdue her and get her outside _without_ using his empathy against her, all the while in the back of his mind a rather nasty voice was reminding him that if he and Bella destroyed Alice's room, they would double team him.

So he did the only thing he could think to do, and in a very unsouthernly way, he turned his back to Bella and ran. He _hoped_ she would follow him, making minimal mess in her haste to rip him limb from limb, but he wasn't surprised to hear crashing follow him as Bella probably knocked over everything she could reach. Esme's foresight to remove all the antiques now seemed very sensible.

He could feel Alice's worry as he raced down the steps, Rosalie's smugness, and Emmett's shock. Esme was concerned, and Edward...well, Edward was resolved.

He thought he knew what he had to do.

Jasper ran faster, pushing himself to get out of the house and into the clearing before Bella could gain on him, hoping to keep their conflict private.

Luckily, she wasn't a new born anymore, she was thirsty, and he had a head start.

Jasper threw the sliding glass door open, knowing Esme would disapprove if he ran through it. Taking a fraction of a second to make sure it _stayed_ open so Bella wouldn't shatter it, he kept running, not stopping until he reached the clearing a couple miles out of the house.

_Try and attack her and you'll have to get through me, _brother_, _Jasper warned Edward silently as he heard Bella approach. Jasper wasn't scared, and he hoped Edward realized that. Bella was irrational and angry, just like he had been in his months after leaving Maria. Of course it would be worse because she didn't leave on her own accord, and of course it would be worse because she found out he had been manipulating her.

Why didn't the others see that this was perfectly rational?

He didn't have any longer to ponder that, because Bella slammed into his back, propelling them both forward. His chest smashed into and obliterated a two hundred year old oak, which slowed their momentum enough for him to hit the floor and Bella to straddle his back, pressing his face into the dirt.

"Bella, listen to me. You have to calm down." He tried to tell her calmly, but she grabbed one of his arms, pulling it back to the point of snapping off clean.

"Why? If I don't, you gonna make me?" She growled, giving his arm a twist. Firings of pain shot from his shoulder joint and he resisted the urge to cry out. They would hear it back at the house, and would most likely feel the need to come running to his rescue.

"Bella, I'm sorry, I didn't want to do that, but you didn't give me any choice. You were angry and irrational, and I needed to push you past that so you could see what we're offering you." He said through gritted teeth and he felt her toy with his fingers. Alice sometimes did something similar, but he knew that what she was doing was far from idle fiddling. Bella was telling him she would dismember his entire arm, if she needed to.

"It's your fault I'm like this." She said softly, her voice a razor's edge tucked in silk.

"Bella..I wish I could deny that, but you're right, it _is _partially my fault." He felt her grip tighten on his pinkie finger. "I never asked Maria to up to visit. I never had any attention of going back, or of ever speaking to her again. I'm assuming she came up because my replacement before you died, and she wanted me back. I'm assuming she was somewhere around your house and you proved too much to resist and she bit you. I'm assuming she didn't finish you off because she realized you could be her second-in-command."

He paused, turning his head so he could see Bella from the corner of his eye. She still had his arm and finger in an iron grip, but her eyes had taken a faraway look, something that wasn't due to his emotional meddling.

"If I could have rescued you right then and there, I would have, but I couldn't. I know better than anyone else, probably anywhere, what you went though, so I apologize. I'm sorry we couldn't save you, I'm sorry you had to grow there, and I'm sorry it took us so long to finally meet."

Her grip loosened on his finger slightly. He could hear his family back at the house, scrambling. Rosalie was egging Edward on, demanding he go out and do what he had planned to do int he first place, but Edward held his ground.

"Why did you mess with my head?" Bella asked, again speaking softly.

He sighed, "You were going through the five stages of grief, and the stage you were at, anger, wouldn't let me talk to you, to show you life moves on after Maria. Because it does, Bella. You can live with us, we can help you move on and re-gain your life."

There was an eerie moment of calm as the weight of what he had said settled over them, and finally, Bella's weight came off him as she stood, letting him up. He got up slowly, not wanting to show that he was a threat.

Part one, plant the seed: complete.

She looked up at him, her face twisted into desperation. "Why did she pick me? Why me?" She asked. She was grasping for straws, trying to find purchase on this new, slippery slope.

"I can't give you that answer, Bella. We may never know."

"It's because of you," she said slowly, causing Jasper to sigh, they were going around in circles.

"We won't ever know, Bella. The answer died with Maria."

"I blame you."

"I know, but it's not my fault, and we both know that."

She wanted to attack him again. He could see it in the way her shoulders tensed when she looked at him, but he could see the strain showing. She was exhausted, physically and mentally, and being without supplement for so long - her eyes were almost ink black at this point - was causing her to become lethargic. This could work for him.

"I'm not finished with this." She warned.

"I know, but you need food now. Come back to the house with me, Emmett will go get you something and bring it back. You aren't strong enough to hunt anymore."

She nodded, the exhaustion finally setting in.

Jasper wrapped his arm around her shoulders and steered her back to the house. Emmett had already left to hunt for her, looking for something big and close he could bring back still warm.

Rosalie was also missing when they returned to the house, although that was to be expected, he supposed. She was still as against this as she was when Bella was first bitten.

Esme was the first in his family to step forward to help Bella, taking her from Jasper to help her down on the couch. Alice hovered by the stairs, torn between worry and anger, while Edward was up in his room, mulling over the new developments while keeping tabs on his family's opinions.

Jasper could feel himself sag slightly, and Alice was at his side in an instant, her arm wrapping around his waist and her head resting on his arm.

"I was worried." She sighed softly.

"I'm sorry."

"Please don't make me worry like that again."

"I won't. Promise."

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**Author's Note: **A million thanks again to my reviewers. Last chapter, I got sixteen. That's the most for this story so far, so thank you! I'm so thrilled :D

So please, keep it up! Reviews are keeping this fic alive!

Thanks for reading,

-Maggie


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